Dr. William C. (Bill) Hurst is a professor in the Food Science and Technology Department at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia USA. Dr. Hurst is an accredited HACCP instructor and specializes in setting up educational food safety programs for various food commodity groups.

Beginning in 1999, he started the first internationally-attended HACCP certification short course for the fresh-cut produce industry and in 2001 held the first GAPS (Good Agricultural Practices) workshop for growers and packers of the fresh produce industry.

Since 1998, Dr. Hurst has been honored for his 30+ years of work with the food industry by the Southeastern Food Processors Association (SFPA), who have awarded an annual scholarship in his name to an outstanding UGA Food Science undergraduate student.

In 2000, he received the prestigious Technical Award from the International Fresh-Cut Produce Association (now United Fresh Produce Association) for his long service to this industry. Dr. Hurst received the 2004 D.W. Brooks Faculty Award for Excellence in Extension, the highest award granted to faculty in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia.